"I will come to you ..."
We invite you to a few minutes of silence before we begin our prayer time together.
Take a deep breath and breathe in the breath of God, knowing by faith that God breathes into us the breath of life.
CONTEMPLATIVE / SILENT PRAYER
Our Centering Prayer sit is 20 - 30 minutes sounded by the chime/chant. At the end of the Prayer sit, we will linger in silence a few minutes, then follow by praying together the Our Father.
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LECTIO DIVINA: Listening to the Word of God with the ears of our heart [See Chopping Wood (or Carrots) Under the Gaze of God for a discussion of Lectio Divina].
First reading & silent reflection: Reflect in silence.
LECTIO: John 14: 15-21. Jesus said to His disciples:
"If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will ask the Father, and He
will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of Truth. I
will not leave you orphans, I will come to you. In a little while the world
will no longer see Me, but you will see Me, because I live and you will live.
You will realize that I am in My Father and you are in Me and I in you. Whoever
has My commandments and observes them is the one who loves Me. Whoever loves Me
will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and reveal Myself to him."
Second reading & reflection: What word or phrase catches your attention? Share or pass.
Third reading & reflection: How does this word or phrase touch your life? Share or pass.
Fourth and last reading & silent reflection: How is God inviting you to grow? We will reflect in silence for a few moments before we move from Lectio Prayer to the teaching by Father Keating.
Teaching: Abba Isaac, one of the Desert Fathers and member of a
fourth-century lay contemplative movement....explains..."We pray with the
door shut when, without opening our mouths and in perfect silence, we offer our
petitions to the One who pays no attention to words, but looks hard at our
hearts." In other words, God looks at our intention much
more than our attention. In Centering Prayer our basic disposition
is "Fill me with Your Holy Spirit, the Supreme Gift, according to Your
promise. I don't know how to ask rightly, so I sit here waiting, asking You to
pray in me, asking for what You most want to bestow--Your Holy Spirit." Fruits and Gifts of the Spirit, Father Thomas Keating
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We now take some time to share our thoughts and reflections on our own spiritual journey and our prayer practice. Followed by brief prayers of intercession. Share or pass.
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Go in the name of Christ Jesus to love and serve the Lord. Thanks be to God!
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[This is an adapted format courtesy of Martha Johnston, Contemplative Outreach of Maryland and Washington, DC]
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